Golden Mystery snails, Eat plants?
- Thread starter Po.Verse
- Start date
If by golden mystery snail you mean Pomecea Bridgesii (sp) they will not eat healthy plant matter.
It depends on what species they are. Most likely you have Pomacea bridgesii, which are the "mystery snails" you will find at most chain pet stores like Petsmart and Petco. They only eat decaying plant matter, so if you see them nibbling it's likely on dying leaves or bits that have fallen off. In that regard they're a great cleanup crew for planted tanks. If you see them nibbling excessively, though, that's usually a sign that they're hungry. What have you been feeding them?
Sometimes Pomacea canaliculata is sold as a "gold mystery snail" as well, though, and in that case you should be seeing entire plants decimated in a matter of days. They're also pretty unusual in the pet trade, too. So as long as you're not seeing giant holes or ravaged plants, you have P. bridgesii and therefore nothing to worry about.
Sometimes Pomacea canaliculata is sold as a "gold mystery snail" as well, though, and in that case you should be seeing entire plants decimated in a matter of days. They're also pretty unusual in the pet trade, too. So as long as you're not seeing giant holes or ravaged plants, you have P. bridgesii and therefore nothing to worry about.
They are just being snails. I have found, and many others will agree, that it is a good idea to keep the water level down a few inches to prevent them from crawling out of the tank in search of a place to lay eggs. What colors do you have? I just love these snails and after buying my first, a goldie, I know am hatching eggs and have so many I am about to start selling them.
a good rule of thumb is to drop the waterline as much space as the diameter of their shell (2 inches for a 2 inch snail, etc).